This is not like Rudy’s Utah teams where a generational defender is covering for a bunch of bad defenders; the Timberwolves are a team with a ton of really talented, versatile defenders in addition to Rudy.

Rudy is back to DPOY frontrunner level of play; his speed/mobility is on a completely different level than the player Timberwolves fans watched last season. Jaden McDaniels is almost a DPOY-tier defender in his own right; he’s the best non center rim protector in basketball and he is maybe the best PoA defender in the league. Ant is an all-defensive caliber SG when he wants to be (tbf this is a huge caveat). Kyle Anderson is a great defender, both on-ball and as a defensive playmaker. NAW is a great PoA defender. Naz can hold his own on the perimeter. Conley’s lost a step but he can still keep his man in front of him. KAT is playing legitimately solid defense. The entire roster is bought into playing good defense.

They’ve got the best rim protector in basketball, a stable of good to elite PoA defenders they can swap in and out, they’ve got suffocating size while not compromising on speed. I think true 5-out teams could still be an issue, but this is undoubtedly the best defensive team in basketball right now.

I just want to point out how friccin fast Rudy runs the court in the second clip ⚡️